1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to tortilla preparation and, more particularly, is concerned with a system having a tortilla cooking oven and associated cooling device incorporating improvements which enhance the productivity of the system and the quality of the cooked product, while at the same time reduce the space required by, and the cost of, the components of the system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
From time immemorial the corn tortilla has always been cooked by the system of placing it on a hot cooking surface. Then, after cooking for about fifteen seconds (depending on the thickness of the tortilla) on one side, the tortilla is turned over so that the other side is also cooked for a comparable period of time in contact with the hot surface. After this, the tortilla is turned for a second time to again place its first side on the hot surface and cook it for another fifteen seconds. At the lapse of this final period, the tortilla is completely cooked. However, it will be observed that the first side of the tortilla has been in contact with the hot cooking surface for a period of time about twice as long as that for the second side. As a result, the two opposite sides are cooked differently, the first side being more well done than the second side.
Tortilla cooking ovens presently in use employ three superposed cooker belts which transport the tortilla through the oven such that one side is cooked first, next the opposite side is cooked, and finally the first side is cooked again, as described above. More particularly, on the upper, first belt, the tortilla is initially cooked on its first side. It is then transferred to a middle, second belt where it is cooked on its opposite second side, and finally after transfer to the third, lower belt, the tortilla is cooked on its first side again. Devices referred to as gliders are used at the ends of each pair of belts where the tortillas will be transferred from an upper belt to the next lower belt. This device provides a stationary curved transfer surface extending between the respective exit and entry ends of the pair of belts upon and along which the tortillas discharging off the exit end of the upper belt are guided to slide downwardly to the entry end of the next lower belt.
While the lower transfer glider linking the exit end of the second, middle belt with the entry end of the third, lower belt fulfills its function satisfactorily, the upper glider which extends between the exit end of the first, upper belt and the entry end of the second, middle belt functions unsatisfactorily from time to time. The problem arises due to the fact that the tortillas, by design, are insufficiently cooked when whey reach the upper glider, causing them to adhere to the glider, where they agglutinate or stick together and not slide down to the middle belt. This problem must be corrected manually by the operator which diminishes production efficiency of the oven and deteriorates the quality of the product. In order to prevent this problem from arising, commonly the operator will increase the oven temperature, whereby the tortillas will now be overcooked on the upper belt in such a way that, by being more cooked and thus better structured, the tortillas will no longer adhere to the upper glider. However, the end result of this action taken by the operator is that the quality of the tortilla is diminished, if not spoiled. The initial excessive cooking on the upper belt makes it dry and brittle.
Another problem of the tortilla preparation system presently used is that the device for cooling the cooked tortillas involves a multiplicity of parts and a very voluminous set of mesh belts having a high cost and a low operating efficiency. As regards cost and by way of example, the parts of the present cooling device include five mesh belts, twenty axle bearings, six shafts, and a number of sprockets, chains, and transmissions.
Consequently, it is readily seen that there is a need for improvements to be made in the system presently used for tortilla preparation which will effectively overcome the above described problems without introducing a set of new ones.